Well, Badgers, we've arrived at my final column. It's been a great year, and I've enjoyed speaking to you twice a month, sharing food goodies and stories. To fit with this theme, I thought I would write this final column about endings. And what's the basic ending to every meal? That's right: desserts! Some say, myself included, dessert is the best part of a meal, and in most circumstances, this is 100-percent true. However, just like some endings in life, desserts can leave a bittersweet aftertaste. So, in honor of finals and entering into new beginnings, here are a few of life's just desserts.
First, an ending we've all been through: graduating from high school. When June of your graduating year rolled around, you felt scared. I know I was. I felt like I was leaving the longest-running comfort system for a new state, classes and friends. When all of those issues and feelings combine, it becomes sour, like a piece of Warhead sour candy. However, that sour feeling goes away soon enough, and August arrives. Then you settle into the sweet and satisfying finish as you realize that being away from home was maybe not as scary as you originally thought.
The next ending is a two-parter, because leaving a job can either be a good thing or a very bad thing. Let's go with the bad news first. When you're working at a job and everything goes smoothly, you dive in head-first, much like eating a bowl of your favorite ice cream. Then you hit a few bumps but think nothing of it. Soon, the inevitable occurs, and you realize those bumps are really gross, old walnuts, and you go into your boss' office for the ""talk."" Overall, firing does leave a bad taste in your mouth, but there are plenty of flavors of ice cream to try throughout the rest of your career. Don't let the fear of brain freeze bring you to a halt.
Sometimes, being done with a job can be a good thing. In that case, leaving can be as simple and wonderful as a huge slice of chocolate cake after an awful meal. In the words of my friend, ""Thank God something good came out of this. And now I get to leave!"" This feeling can't come from just any chocolate cake. It has to be the best, richest and most mouthgasmic cake you've ever tasted. Savor the moment of blissfully succulent freedom as long as you possibly can before putting your nose back to the grindstone. Or in the case of dessert before you head to your old friend, the treadmill.
Next is something we have all been through: the end of a relationship. No matter how in love you were, or how mutual you tell yourself it was, breaking up sucks. So does bad chocolate. Any cocoa connoisseurs can attest to this. Not only do most people go to chocolate for comfort, munching on less-than-tasty Hershey's just leaves you wanting more and feeling fat and unwanted.
However, like ice cream, there are plenty of chocolate bars left on the shelves, just waiting to be opened. Be choosy, but taste test with gusto and you'll wind up all the wiser.
For all of you seniors out there, this last one will come soon enough: graduating from college. Like high school, commencement season can bring up feelings of sourness and sadness. However, college is much better than high school and therefore deserves a better dessert metaphor. So, college is like a cupcake, in that it is a small, wonderful and blissful time in your life that ends all too quickly. Especially if it has red and white icing. Enjoy the sweet moments from your college experience, and look ahead to the sweet moments of your future. They're waiting for you, cradled in silver liners.
Finally, no column about endings would be complete without bringing up this ending: my time as a columnist. It's been a great year, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it every few weeks as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I had to wrack my brain to think of a dessert that could encompass the past 12 months, but I think I came up with it: a small yet delicious dessert from a foreign place while on vacation—a chocolate truffle. Something small but satisfying.
I learned a lot, from aphrodisiacs to the weird food my friends eat during finals. It did feel like I was on vacation, as this column has been a nice reprieve from writing assignments. And, because it felt so small, I'm sad to see it go. Hopefully I'm off to bigger things in the future, but I'll never forget my time here in the Food section!
Before digging into that pint of brownie swirl, tell Claire how much you're enjoyed her column at crwiese@wisc.edu.
